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Aralia cordata

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Botanical Name : Aralia cordata
Family: Araliaceae
Genus: Aralia
Species:A. cordata
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Apiales

Synonyms : Aralia edulis, Aralia nutans

Common Names: Udo in Japanese, and also as Japanese spikenard or Mountain asparagus

Habitat : Aralia cordata is native to E. Asia – China, Japan, Korea. It grows in thickets and thin woods, esp. by streams and ravines, all over Japan.
Description:
Aralia cordata is a perennial herb. It is classified as a dicot and a eudicot. The leaves are alternate, large, and double to triple pinnate with leaflets 7 to 15 centimetres (2.8 to 5.9 in) long, and 5 to 10 centimetres (2.0 to 3.9 in) broad. The flowers are produced in large umbels of 30 to 45 centimetres (12 to 18 in) diameter in late summer, each flower small and white. The fruit is a small black drupe 3 millimetres (0.12 in) diameter, and may be toxic to humans.

CLICK & SEE  THE  PICTURES

In the wild, the plant achieves a height of 1.2 to 1.8 metres (3.9 to 5.9 ft). It has golden leaves in the spring and an abundance of large bright green ones in the summer. It has a hefty and plump root stock with shoots 60 to 90 centimetres (2.0 to 3.0 ft) in length. It can reach optimal growth when planted in rich soil. During the summer it produces loose flower bunches 90 centimetres (3.0 ft) in length, which are attractive to bees and flies, making it ideal for beekeepers. It can be grown using seed or propagated from cuttings.

It is in flower from Jul to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist soil.

Cultivation:
Prefers a good deep loam and a semi-shady position. Requires a sheltered position. Plants are hardier when grown in poorer soils. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.0 to 7.4. Dormant plants are hardy to about -25°c. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun. This is a commonly cultivated food crop in Japan, where it is grown for its edible shoots. There are several named varieties.
Propagation:
Seed – best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 – 5 months of cold stratification. Germination usually takes place within 1 – 4 months at 20°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once the plants are 25cm or more tall, they can be planted out into their permanent positions, late spring or early summer being the best time to do this. Root cuttings 8cm long, December in a cold frame. Store the roots upside down in sand and pot up in March/April. High percentage. Division of suckers in late winter. Very easy, the suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions if required.
Edible Uses:
Young branched shoots – cooked or raw. They can be up to 1.5 metres long and have a mild and agreeable flavour. They are usually blanched and are crisp and tender with a unique lemon-like flavour. They can be sliced and added to salads, soups etc. The shoots contain about 1.1% protein, 0.42% fat, 0.8% soluble carbohydrate, 0.55% ash. Root – cooked. Used like scorzonera.

Composition :
Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.
Shoots (Fresh weight)

•0 Calories per 100g
•Water : 0%
•Protein: 1.1g; Fat: 0.42g; Carbohydrate: 0.8g; Fibre: 0g; Ash: 0.55g;
•Minerals – Calcium: 0mg; Phosphorus: 0mg; Iron: 0mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
•Vitamins – A: 0mg; Thiamine (B1): 0mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0mg; Niacin: 0mg; B6: 0mg; C: 0mg;
Medicinal Uses:
Analgesic; Antiinflammatory; Carminative; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Stimulant; Stomachic; Tonic.

The root is sometimes used in China as a substitute for ginseng (Panax species). It is said to be analgesic, antiinflammatory, carminative, diuretic, febrifuge, stimulant, stomachic and tonic. The root contains an essential oil, saponins, sesquiterpenes and diterpene acids. It is used in Korea to treat the common cold and migraines.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aralia_cordata
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Aralia+cordata

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Atriplex lentiformis

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Botanical Name : Atriplex lentiformis
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily:Chenopodioideae
Genus: Atriplex
Species:A. lentiformis
Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales

Synonyms: A. breweri S.Wats A. lentiformis var. breweri (S.Wats.) McMinn = A. lentiformis subsp. brewer

Common Names: Quail bush, Big saltbrush, Big saltbush, Quailbrush, Lenscale, Len-scale saltbush and White thistle

Habitat : Atriplex lentiformis is native to South-western N. America – California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Mexico. It grows on saline to essentially non-saline drainages, stream and canal banks, roadsides, warm desert shrub, saltbush, and riparian communities at elevations of 70 – 1000 metres.
Description:
Atriplex lentiformis is an evergreen spreading communal shrub reaching one to three meters in height and generally more in width. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower from May to September, and the seeds ripen from Jul to October. It is highly branched and bears scaly or scurfy gray-green leaves up to 5 centimeters long and often toothed or rippled along the edges. This species may be dioecious or monoecious, with individuals bearing either male or female flowers, or sometimes both. Male flowers are borne in narrow inflorescences up to 50 centimeters long, while inflorescences of female flowers are smaller and more compact. Plants can change from monoecious to dioecious and from male to female and vice versa.The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Wind.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Cultivation:
Requires a position in full sun in any well-drained but not too fertile soil. Tolerates saline and very alkaline soils. Succeeds in a hot dry position. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c. Forms growing in coastal and near coastal regions of California have somewhat broader, merely ovate, rounded leaves, and they have been regarded either at species level as Atriplex breweri S. Watson or as a sub-species of A. lentiformis. Plants are more commonly dioecious, though monoecious forms can also be found.

Propagation:
Seed – sow April/May in a cold frame in a compost of peat and sand. The seed usually germinates in 1 – 3 weeks at 13°c. Pot up the seedlings when still small into individual pots, grow on in a greenhouse for the first winter and plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy. Pot up as soon as they start to root (about 3 weeks) and plant out in their permanent positions late in the following spring. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season’s growth, November/December in a frame. Very easy. Pot up in early spring and plant out in their permanent position in early summer.

Edible Uses:
Leaves and young shoots – cooked. Seed – cooked. It can be used as a piñole or be ground into a meal and used as a porridge, a thickener in soups or added to flour for making bread. The seed is rather small and fiddly to use.
Medicinal Uses:

Miscellany; Poultice.

The fresh leaves can be chewed, or the dried leaves smoked, in the treatment of head colds. The crushed flowers, stems and leaves can be steamed and inhaled to treat nasal congestion. A poultice of the powdered roots has been applied to sores.

Other Uses:...Miscellany; Soap…..The crushed leaves and roots have been used as a soap for washing clothes etc.
This saltbush species, A. lentiformis, and Atriplex canescens are the food plants for the saltbush sootywing Hesperopsis alpheus, a butterfly.

Atriplex lentiformis is used in restoration of riparian habitats, one of the native plants in riparian zone restoration projects in its native ranges

Known Hazards:  No member of this genus contains any toxins, all have more or less edible leaves. However, if grown with artificial fertilizers, they may concentrate harmful amounts of nitrates in their leaves.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atriplex_lentiformis
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Atriplex+lentiformis

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Gossypium hirsutum

Botanical Name : Gossypium hirsutum
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Gossypium
Species: G. hirsutum
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Malvales

Synonyms:
*Gossypium barbadense var. marie-galante (G. Watt) A. Chev., Rev. Int. Bot. Appl Agric. Trop. 18:118. 1938.
*Gossypium jamaicense Macfad., Fl. Jamaica 1:73. 1837.
*Gossypium lanceolatum Tod., Relaz. cult. coton. 185. 1877.
*Gossypium marie-galante G. Watt, Kew Bull. 1927:344. 1927.
*Gossypium mexicanum Tod., Ind. sem. panorm. 1867:20, 31. 1868.
*Gossypium morrillii O. F. Cook & J. Hubb., J. Washington Acad. Sci. 16:339. 1926.
*Gossypium palmeri G. Watt, Wild cult. cotton 204, t. 34. 1907.
*Gossypium punctatum Schumach., Beskr. Guin. pl. 309. 1827.
*Gossypium purpurascens Poir., Encycl. suppl. 2:369. 1811.
*Gossypium religiosum L., Syst. nat. ed. 12, 2:462. 1767.
*Gossypium schottii G. Watt, Wild cult. cotton 206. 1907.
*Gossypium taitense Parl., Sp. Cotoni 39, t. 6, fig. A. 1866.
*Gossypium tridens O. F. Cook & J. Hubb., J. Washington Acad. Sci. 16:547. 1926.
Common Names: Upland cotton or Mexican cotton,Cotton

Habitat : Gossypium hirsutum   is believed to have originated in Central America. In its transition from tropical to temperate regions, American Upland Cotton has lost the perennial, short-day habit to become highly vegetative producing few or no fruiting branches when grown during long days. Annual forms were developed in which all periodicity controls were lost. American Upland Cotton was taken from Mexico to United States about 1700. During American Civil War, it was introduced into most tropical and subtropical countries of the world. It now forms basis of all commercial cotton crops of Africa outside the Nile Valley, all those of South America except in Peru and northern Brazil, of the modern Russian crop, and much of that of northern India and Pakistan, and the Philippine Islands, as well as that of the Cotton Belt of the United States. Upland and Cambodian varieties are invading the Chinese crop, and where these cottons are developed in southeast Asia, they will be based on these types and hybrids between them.

Description:
Gossypium hirsutum is an annual subshrub, up to 1.5 m tall; branches of two kinds: vegetative and fruiting; leaves alternate, petiolate, palmately 3–5-lobed, hirsute, blade cordate, as broad as long, 7.5–15 cm across; flowers 6–8 on each fertile branch, large, white or yellow, subtended by a reduced calyx and 3–4 large green fringed bracts; staminal column surrounding style made up of 100 or more stamens; ovary superior, 3–5-carpellate; fruit a dehiscent capsule, 4–6 cm long, spherical, smooth, light green, with few oil glands; seeds 1 cm long, ovoid, dark brown, about 36 per fruit, bearing hairs of two kinds on the epidermis: long fibers called lint and short fibers strongly attached to seedcoat called fuzz; weight of 100 seeds 10–13 g; well-developed taproot with numerous laterals penetrating as deeply as 3 m. Fl. variable as to locality, approx. 3 months after planting……....CLICK &  SEE  THE  PICTURES

Cultivation:
Seeds of some cultivars require a 2–3 month period of dormancy. Seeds lose viability quickly under moist conditions. Commercial cotton is always grown from seed, sown when soil temperatures are at least 18°C. Seed sown in drills or in hills. The hill-drop method is perhaps best if hand-hoe labor is used. Plant 2.5 cm deep under normal conditions. Seed rate of 17–28 kg/ha gives a good stand with 75,000–150,000 plants/ha, allowing for some losses. Row width of 100 cm is most suitable for mechanization. Seedbed preparation should include eradication of residue from past crops, maintenance of drainage, good tilth, elimination of hardpans, control of weeds and pests. Periodic cultivation and weeding is practiced. Chemical herbicides are routine in many countries. Insect control is one of the most costly items. Pre- and post-planting pesticide application is practiced. Irrigation is used when soil moisture is inadequate or when soil is poor in moisture-holding ability. An increasing amount of cotton is grown under irrigation yearly. Fertilizers are also a major item; for large harvests nutrients must be continually replaced. Amounts depend on soils; local agents should be consulted. Rotation is a recommended practice. Short rainy seasons often allow only the single crop to be grown. Where possible, a rotation of fallow, wheat, fallow, peas, cotton, fallow has proved practical.
Edible Uses:
Linters are of intermediate texture and shorter than those of G. barbadense. Seeds yield a semi-drying and edible oil, used in shortening, margarine, salad and cooking oils, and for protective coverings.

Chemical Constituents:
Root bark contains ca 3% of a reddish acidic resin, a volatile oil, a phenolic acid (probably 2,3-dihydrobenzoic acid; salicylic acid, a colorless phenol, betaine, a fatty alcohol, a phytosterol (C27H46O), a hydrocarbon (probably triacontane), ceryl alcohol and oleic and palmitic acid. Hager’s Handbook (List and Horhammer, 1969–1979) also lists isoquercitrin, quercimeritrin, quercetin-3′-glucoside, hirsutrin, isoastragalin, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, a-pinene, b-caryophyllene, bisabolol, caryophyllenepoxide, bisabolenoxide, abscissin II, serotonin, chrysanthemin, gossypicyanin, and histamine.

Medicinal Uses:
Cottonseed and roots have been used in nasal polyps, uterine fibroids and other types of cancer (Hartwell, 1967–1971). Gossypol has shown anticancer activity in the new LL, WA and PS-150 tumor systems. Mucilaginous tea of fresh or roasted seeds used for bonchitis, diarrhea, dysentry, and hemorrhage. Flowers diuretic and emollient, used for hypochondriasis. Leaves steeped in vinegar applied to the forehead for headache. Often used by early American slaves for abortion; apparently with no serious side effects. In Guinea, leaves and seeds considered emollient and roots emmenagogue. About 100 g root was boiled in about a liter of water until reduced by 1/2. Fifty g of the resultant witches brew was then drunk about every half hour. Root decocotion used for asthma, diarrhea, and dysentery. Root bark, devoid of tannin, astringent, antihemorrhoidal; used as an emmenagogue, hemostat, lactagogue, oxytocic, parturient, and vasoconstrictor. Gossypol is being used in China as a male contraceptive.

Other Uses:
Cultivated primarily for its vegetable seed fiber, the raw material for a large volume of textile products, this species is considered the most important of the cotton-yielding plants, providing the bulk of commercial cottons.
Pigg (1980) reports that bread, made with cottonseed protein is an even better source of protein than enriched white bread, six slices of which provide 20% of the adult RDA. Low-grade residue serves as manure, bedding and fuel. Fuzz, which is not removed in ginning, become linters in felts, upholstery, mattresses, twine, wicks, carpets, surgical cottons, and in chemical industries such as rayons, film, shatterproof glass, plastics, sausage skins, lacquers, and cellulose explosives.

Residue, cottonseed cake or meal is important protein concentrate for livestock.
Known Hazards: Gossypol, the toxic dihydroxyphenol, occuring in seeds and the glands of seedlings, must be removed before cottonseed can be used for feed. Hogs have died from eating raw seed (Morton, 1974). Per 100 g, the ground seed is reported to contain 7.3 g H2O, 23.1 g protein, 22.9 g fat, 43.2 g total carbohydrate, 16.9 g fiber, 3.5 g ash, 140 mg Ca, 1.2 mg Mn, 320 mg Mg, 680 mg P, 14 mg Fe, 290 mg Na, 1,110 mg K 240 mg S, 5 mg Cu. Once the oil is removed, the meal contains per 100 g, 7.3 g H2O, 41.4 g protein, 5.6 g fat, 10.9 g crude fiber, 39.5 g total carbohydrate (6.5 g total sugars, 6.4% lignin), 190 mg Ca, 1.8 mg Cu, 10 mg Fe, 490 mg Mg, 2.3 mg Mn, 1,090 mg P, 1,250 mg K, 50 mg Na, and 400 mg S (Parnell, 1981). Commercial cottonseed contains approximately 92% dry matter, 16–20% protein, 18–24% oil, 30% carbohydrates, 22% crude fiber. After ginning, cottonseed includes unginned lint, fuzz, 16% crude oil, 45.5% cake or meal, 25.5% hulls, and 8% linters. Principal pigment in seed is gossypol, a poisonous phenolic compound usually rendered harmless on crushing or heating, but may retain minute amounts to which pigs and chickens are sensitive.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossypium_hirsutum
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_C.htm
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Gossypium_hirsutum.html#Toxicity

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Rice

Botanical Name : Oryza sativa
Family: Poaceae
Genus:     Oryza
Species: O. sativa
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class:     Liliopsida
Order:     Poales

Synonyms: Nivara. Dhan. O. montana. O. setegera. O. latifolia. Bras.

Common Name : Rice or paddy

In bengali dhan or chal

Part Used:The seeds.

Habitat:Rice is native to the tropics and subtropics of Southeast Asia, rice is now cultivated in many localities throughout the world with favorable climatic conditions. More than 90% of the world rice production is in Asia; China and India being the largest producers .

Description:
Rice is an annual plant with several jointed culms or stems from 2 to 10 feet long,(depending on the variety) the lower part floating in water or prostrate, with roots at the nodes, the rest erect. The panicle is terminal and diffuse, bowing when the seed is weighty. It is probably indigenous to China, and certainly to India, where the wild form grows by tanks, ditches and rivers. It was early introduced into East Africa and Syria, and later into America, where it already appears as a native plant. In Europe, rice was brought into the Mediterranean basin from Syria by the Arabs in the Middle Ages, but is now grown largely only in the plain of Lombardy, and a little in Spain. In England it has been cultivated merely as a curiosity, and may be seen in the hothouses of most botanic gardens, treated as a water plant. The Cingalese distinguish 160 kinds, while 50 or 60 are cultivated in India, not including the wild form, from which the grain is collected, though it is never cultivated. Most kinds require irrigation, but some need little water, or can be grown on ordinary, dry ground.
Oryza (the classical name of the grain), or the husked seeds, is called Bras by the Malays, and Paddy when it is enclosed in the husk. Carolina and Patna rice are the most esteemed in England and the United States. The grain of the first is round and flat, and boils soft for puddings; the latter has a long and narrow grain that keeps its shape well for curries, etc.

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The flour procured from the seeds is called Oryzae Farina, or rice flour, commonly known as ground rice.

The granules of rice starch are the smallest of all known starch granules.

A kind of spirit called Arrack is sometimes distilled from the fermented infusion, but the name Arrack is usually applied to Palm wine or Toddy.

Cultivation:
Rice should be planted on a smooth seedbed. In United States rice is seeded in spring at rate of 101–123 kg/ha when drilled and 130–225 kg/ha when broadcast; on virgin land, 140–145 kg/ha. This will give 80–300 plants/m2 0.1 sq. m. Cover seed 3.7–5 cm, or broadcast in water with airplane. In some countries (as India, Malaya, Philippines, China, Japan, and Spain), rice is transplanted into fields when 25 cm high, spaced 10–20 cm apart in 20–30 cm rows. Thirty-five laborers can plant 1 ha/day. Plant in very low water and then increase depth. Transplanting makes better use of limited land areas. Tipar (Upland) culture is still found in Sumatra, Thailand, Borneo, and the Philippines. It represents a primitive kind of culture and is of slight overall importance. Rice is sown 3–4 cm deep in holes 15 cm apart on hillsides where no irrigation is possible. Fields are worked as corn fields; crop rotation is practiced with bananas or sugar cane; yields are small. Continuous rice culture depletes soil nutrition and lowers yield. Rotations with soybeans, grain sorghums or small grains, vetch, safflower, field beans, burclover, horsebeans, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, lespedeza, or corn, have been used. Nitrogen to 90 kg/ha was found to increase yields; beyond that no further increase. Potash and phosphorus are used only on the basis of soil tests. All phosphorus and potassium and some nitrogen should be applied at time of seeding; the rest of the nitrogen at mid growing season as a top-dressing. Flood soon afterwards to eliminate weeds. Other fertilizers which are used; as rice straw, rice ash, stable manure, buffalo dung, green manure, fish guano, fish meal, natural manure, and human feces.

Ediable Uses:
Rice is cultivated primarily for the grain which forms an important part of the diet in many countries, especially in Asia.It is a staple food for many countries of the world. Grains are quite nutritious when not polished. In the US, 60% of domestic rice consumption went into direct food use, 11% into processed food, and 29% into beer production around 1975 (Rutger, 1981). US per capita consumption is between 3 and 4 kg/yr, up from 2.7 a few years ago (cf >50 kg in portions of Latin America). Common or starchy types are used in various dishes, cakes, soups, pastries, breakfast foods, and starch pastes; glutinous types, containing a sugary material instead of starch, are used in the Orient for special purposes as sweetmeats. Rice bran contains 15–17% oil, and is a source of vitamin B, used as a preventative and cure of beriberi. Grain is also used to make rice wine, Saki, much consumed in Japan. Fermented or Sierra rice is consumed in the Andean highlands and is used exclusively there in the preparation of dry rice.

Medicinal Uses:
According to Hartwell (1967–1971), the seeds are used in folk medicine for breast cancers, stomach indurations, other tumors, and warts. Reported to be antidotal, aperitif, astringent, demulcent, diuretic, excipient, larvicidal, refrigerant, stomachic, tonic, and vermifuge, rice is a folk remedy for abdominal ailments, beriberi, bowels, burns, diarrhea, dysentery, dyspepsia, epistaxis, fever, filariasis, flux, hematemesis, inflammations, jaundice, nausea, ophthalmia, paralysis, piles, psoriasis, skin ailments, sores, splenosis, stomach ailments, and swellings (Duke and Wain, 1981). According to Duke and Ayensu (1984), the flowers are dried as cosmetic and dentifrice in China, awns are used for jaundice in China. The stem is used for bilious conditions; ash for discharges and wounds, sapraemia in Malaya; infusion of straw for dysentery, gout, and rheumatism. The husk is used for dysentery and considered tonic in China. In China, rice cakes are fried in camel’s fat for hemorrhoids; rice water is used for fluxes and ulcers and applied externally for gout with pepper in Malaya. Boiled rice is used for carbuncles in Malaya and poulticed onto purulent tumors in the East Indies. The root is considered astringent, anhidrotic, and is decocted for anuria. Sprouts are used for poor appetite, dyspepsia, fullness of abdomen and chest, and weak spleen and stomach in China. The lye of charred stems (merang, Indonesia) is used as a hair wash and used internally as an abortifacient. In the Philippine Islands, an extract (tikitiki), rich in antineuritic B1 vitamin, made of rice polishings, is used in treatment of infantile beriberi and for malnutrition in adults. In Java, the vitamins are extracted and supplied as lozenges.

Other Uses: Rice hulls are sometimes used in the production of purified alpha cellulose and furfural.  Rice straw is used as roofing and packing material, feed, fertilizer  and biomass fuel.

A few years ago the injurious habit of chewing the raw white grains was practised by fashionable women and girls to produce a white velvety complexion.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Oryza_sativa.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryza_sativa
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/r/rice–15.html

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Asthma weed

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Botanical Name :Lobelia inflata (LINN.)/Parietaria judaica
Family: Urticaceae /Campanulaceae
Subfamily: Lobelioideae
Genus: Parietaria/Lobelia
Species: P. judaica/ L. inflata
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Rosales/Asterales

Common Names: Rapuntium inflatum, Indian-Tobacco, Pukeweed, Asthma Weed, Gagroot, Vomitwort, Bladderpod

Parts Used: The herb and its seeds

Habitat: Asthma Weed is found in the northern United States and Canada

Description:
Perennial herb with spreading to erect stems to 80 (rarely to 100) cm long. Stems reddish to green.It  possesses stalked leaves 1.5–9 cm long, lanceolate, ovate or rhombic, hairy on both surfaces, strongly veined; leaf stalk 1–1.5 cm long.Its flowers are pale violet-blue in colour. Single seeded dry fruit (achene) maturing dark brown to black, hard, 1–1.2 mm long and 0.6–0.9 mm wide
click to see the pictures…>…..(01)....(1).…….(2).…..…(3)…...(.4).…...(5).…(.6).…..(7).…...(8).…..(9)
Roots are pink or red, and woody on older plants. Flowers are very small, light green in colour, and clustered along the stems. Leaves, flowers and stems are covered with sticky hairs that will stick to skin, clothing and animal fur.

The weed spreads mainly by movement of seed, particularly when attached to animals, machinery and people. Some local spread via root pieces.

Medicinal Uses:
Asthma Weed is used as an expectorant, diaphoretic and anti-asthmatic substance. It is used also in epilepsy, tetanus, diphtheria and tonsilitis. Its infusion is used to treat ophthalmia and its tincture cures skin diseases.

Asthma weed (Euphorbia hirta) has been used traditionally in Asia to treat bronchitic asthma and laryngeal spasm. It is used in the Philippines for dengue fever.
Native Americans used lobelia to treat respiratory and muscle disorders, and as a purgative..The species used most commonly in modern herbalism is Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco). However, there are adverse effects that limit the use of lobelia.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:
http://www.herbsguide.net/asthma-weed.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_medicinal_herbs
http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=&s=&card=H68
http://www.pittwater.nsw.gov.au/environment/noxious_weeds/herbs/asthma_weed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parietaria_judaica

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_inflata

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